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David Foster speaking at a ceremony for Andrea Bocelli to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Photo by: Angela George- Wikimedia.

Top 10 Facts about David Foster

David Foster Wallace was an American novelist best remembered for his 1996 novel Infinite Jest, which was named one of the top 100 English novels from 1923 to 2005. He was born on February 21, 1962 in Ithaca, New York to university philosophy professor James Donald Wallace and college English professor Sally Jean Foster.

He grew up in Illinois because his family relocated there when he was a child. He went on to attend Amherst College in Massachusetts. His senior English thesis was The Broom of the System, his novel.

David struggled with depression while still in college, but he went on to earn his B.A. and then his master’s degree in creative writing from the University of Arizona.

1. David won a Grammy for his talent

David Foster made a name for himself in the music industry by working with prominent musicians such as Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, and Barbara Streisand, but he had been trying to make it as a band!

He was also awarded a Grammy for his performance in the film Bodyguard. Lastly, David Foster was previously married to Linda Thompson, then Yolanda Hadid, before marrying Katharine McPhee in 2018. Sara, Allison, Erin, and Jordan are the musician’s four daughters.

2. David Foster has won multiple awards 

David Foster Wallace has won countless awards for his work, including the Aga Khan Prize for Fiction in 1997, Time magazine’s Best Books of the Year in 1996, the Salon Book Award in 1996, the Lannan Literary Award in 1996, and a Pulitzer Prize nomination in 2012.

3. David Foster’s educational background

David Foster Wallace gave a reading for Booksmith at All Saints Church in 2006. Photo by: Steve Rhodes- Wikimedia.

Wallace was the son of an English teacher and a philosophy professor. In 1985, he graduated from Amherst College with a B.A. When his highly regarded debut novel, The Broom of the System (1987), was published, he was completing a master’s degree in creative writing at the University of Arizona.

Eventually in his career, he taught creative writing at Illinois State University and Pomona College. In 1997, he was awarded a fellowship from the MacArthur Foundation.

4. David Foster’s interest in music began from young

Maurice Foster and Eleanor May Foster gave birth to the future music artist.

Born on November 1, 1949, in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, the future producer began learning the piano at the age of four. He began taking music lessons at the University of Washington when he was 13 years old.

5. David Foster’s music career

“David Foster and Friends” concert, in conjunction with “Sapurakencana Petroleum Malaysia Grand Prix Gala Dinner & Concert 2014.” Photo by: Lim Lei Tin (Leitin Suwito)- Wikimedia.

David Foster was the pianist for Skylark, whose hit single “Wildflower.” The band disbanded in 1975. “I took part in everything that was recorded, and every night was a session.” alongside Rod Stewart or George Harrison. 

Afterward, in 1979, he received his first Grammy Award as a songwriter for the song After the Love Has Gone by Earth, Wind, and Fire. This is how his career took off.

Airplay was formed in 1980 by him, Jay Graydon, and Tommy Funderburk. They released an album that included a cover of the song “After the Love Has Gone.”

6. Other awards/opportunities David Foster got throughout his career

In 1992, he worked with Whitney Houston on his film Bodyguard, which earned him a Grammy for Album of the Year and featured the hit single “I Will Always Love You,” which won Best Title of the Year.

In 1996, he won Album of the Year for Falling Into You, which was performed by Celine Dion. The same year, he won another award for Toni Braxton’s song “Un-Break My Heart.” David Foster launched the careers of two singers in the 2000s: Josh Groban and Michael Bubl茅.

He has also continued to produce his own music, releasing more than ten albums since the early 1980s.

Foster has also toured extensively, frequently with “Foster and Friends.” In 2010, he released The Hit Man Returns, a live album featuring singers such as Seal and Donna Summer. David Foster reached a watershed moment in his career when he was named president of Verve Records, a Universal Music Group corporation, in 2012.

7. David Foster’s hit novel to read

Must-read fiction: “Infinite Jest” is Wallace’s most well-known and unbelievably compact novel. Devoted fans swear by it, while others dismiss it as a waste of time.

Only one thing is certain: if you plan to read “Infinite Jest,” be prepared to devote at least a month of your life to it.

Other remarkable stories by Wallace include “The Depressed Person,” which explores the emotional journey of depression, and “Good Old Neon,” in which the main character expresses Wallace’s own deepest fear of being a fraud.

8. Another hit novel to read

Katharine McPhee and David Foster on the red carpet at 2022 Gateway Celebrity Fight Night at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa in Phoenix, Arizona. Photo by: Gage Skidmore- Wikimedia.

Nonfiction must-read: After being appointed to cover the Maine Lobster Festival, Wallace wrote “Consider the Lobster” for Gourmet, but his worries eventually shifted from culinary to ethical.

Wallace claims in “A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again” that cruise ships are dangerous. Wallace delves into politics in “Up, Simba,” writing about John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2000.

“The View from the Midwest,” Wallace’s essay, challenges America in its most crippling state, post-9/11.

9. He suffered from debilitating depression and addiction

鈥淲allace understood from the beginning that his fall from grace was a literary opportunity,鈥� wrote D.T. Max in his memoir 鈥淓very Love Story is a Ghost Story: The Life of David Foster Wallace.鈥� 

He moved in and out of  and  battling depression, alcoholism and various drug addictions.

Eventually, Wallace opted for electroconvulsive-shock therapy following multiple suicide attempts and failed efforts to mitigate his condition with medication.

10. David Foster eventually committed suicide

Con David Foster Wallace. Photo by: Antonio Monda- Wikimedia.

In 2008, he committed suicide. He was 46. “Everything had been tried; he just couldn’t stand it any longer,” wrote David’s father, James Wallace, in The New York Times’ heart breaking obituary.